white water based inks on black shirts

Posted on Wed, 24 Nov 2004 at 2:51

ok, so i am in a bit of a jam. i am only set up to print with water based inks. this side job i took in is giving me some troubles. it is a basketball league, with 8 different teams per age group. i specifically told the lady i'm doing this for that i can not print on dark garments. well, she obviously didn't hear that part. so i am stuck using water based inks. i am currently using union inks atex 1000 (white) for the dark garments. i added a little screen opener, and am using 110 mesh. what ive found to work best, is hit it twice, dry it for a moment with a hair dryer, and then hit it again. this actually produces a very opaque white. but the problems i encounter are:

1. by the 6th or 7th shirt, the screen starts to clog in the finer parts of the design.

2. the ink seems to 'crack' pretty easily, even if it is slightly stretched. i know this can't be good in the long run.

so, any tips on prducing long lasting prints, without the clogging? should i got down to a 86 mesh? add more screen opener? switch to a different brand of inks? ive been reading about dye discharge, is it worth it, and can i learn to use it by friday? any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! thanks.

-chris

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Comments

Anonymous says: Hi, Call me at 631-537-8390 - Randie Meshirer. I have some ideas about a very flexible fabric ink but I had a few questions that you can help me with.
Thanks Randie
posted on: Tue, 11/30/2004 - 9:23am

Anonymous says: Get an empty spray bottle and fill it with water, spray the ink after every print, it's water based and drys quickly, spraying a little water on will help. Trust me. Good luck.
Curtis
posted on: Sat, 02/26/2005 - 3:30am